At Home in the World

Andrea Grisdale

IC Bellagio

Italy

Bellagio, Italy

39-031-952-059

No request is too big for Grisdale, a bilingual former guide who is based on Lake Como and has considerable pull at the most elegant hotels. She can have the crypt opened for you at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, procure a Ferrari to drive through Piedmont, or arrange a visit to Carrera’s marble quarries with a local sculptor. She and her sizable team make plans for more than 4,000 travelers annually—which translates into considerable pull at top hotels—yet they are accessible 24/7. As a villa specialist, she can tell you which flowers are planted in what part of the garden and, if a church is nearby, how often you’ll hear the bells toll. Her Web site is intentionally spare: She asks questions and, based on your answers, selects four to eight villas and sends photos (Travel: (minimum price per day for two people: $850. Villas: 20 properties: low season, $800–$105,000; high season, $1,000–$105,000).